Ben's Chili Bowl is a landmark restaurant in Washington, D.C., located at 1213
U Street, next to
Lincoln Theatre, in the
U Street Corridor
The U Street Corridor, sometimes called Cardozo/Shaw or Cardozo, is a commercial and residential district in Northwest Washington, D.C., most of which also constitutes the Greater U Street Historic District. It is centered along a nine-block s ...
(a.k.a. Cardozo/Shaw neighborhood) of
Northwest D.C. It is known locally for its
chili dog
A chili dog is a hot dog served in a Hot dog bun, bun and topped with a meat sauce, such as chili con carne. Additional toppings may include cheese, onions, and Mustard (condiment), mustard. The style has multiple regional variations in the Unite ...
s,
half-smoke
A half-smoke is a "local sausage delicacy" found in Washington, D.C., and the surrounding region. Similar to a hot dog, but usually larger, spicier, and with more coarsely-ground meat, the sausage is often half-pork and half-beef, Smoking (cooki ...
s, and
milkshake
A milkshake (sometimes simply called a shake) is a sweet beverage made by blending milk, ice cream, and flavorings or sweeteners such as butterscotch, caramel sauce, chocolate syrup, fruit syrup, or whole fruit into a thick, sweet, cold mixture ...
s, and has been part of the U Street neighborhood's since its founding in 1958. It was frequented by both police and protesters during the
1968 Washington, D.C. riots, and is regularly visited by celebrities, such as
Anthony Bourdain
Anthony Michael Bourdain (; June 25, 1956 – June 8, 2018) was an American celebrity chef, author, and travel documentarian who starred in programs focusing on the exploration of international culture, cuisine, and the human condition. Bourdai ...
and
Chris Tucker
Christopher Tucker (born August 31, 1971) is an American actor and comedian. Tucker made his debut in 1992 as a stand-up performer on the HBO comedy series ''Def Comedy Jam'', where he frequently appeared on the show during the 1990s. He app ...
.
In January 2009, Washington, D.C. Mayor
Adrian Fenty
Adrian Malik Fenty (born December 6, 1970) is an American politician who served as the sixth mayor of the District of Columbia. He served one term, from 2007 to 2011, losing his bid for reelection at the primary level to Democrat Vincent C. Gra ...
took then President-elect
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
to eat at Ben's as part of his welcome to the city.
History
Ben's Chili Bowl was founded on August 22, 1958 (Friday),
[Ali, Virginia R. (April 3, 1988). "Burned Into the Future; Before April 4, 1968, Washington was a tranquil but segregated town. After the riots, everything changed. Six Washingtonians look back". ''The Washington Post''. p. W28.] by
Ben Ali, a Trinidadian-born immigrant of
Indian
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
descent who had studied dentistry at nearby
Howard University
Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...
, and his fiancée,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
-born
Virginia Rollins. The two were married seven weeks after opening the restaurant.
The building they chose was that of Washington's first
silent movie
''Silent Movie'' is a 1976 American satirical comedy film co-written, directed by and starring Mel Brooks, released by 20th Century Fox in the summer of 1976. The ensemble cast includes Dom DeLuise, Marty Feldman, Bernadette Peters, and Sid Cae ...
house, the Minnehaha, which was established in 1911.
[Virtual Duke Ellington's Washington: Tour of Shaw: Ben's Chili Bowl]
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
The building is a
contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distri ...
to the
Greater U Street Historic District
The U Street Corridor, sometimes called Cardozo/Shaw or Cardozo, is a commercial and residential district in Northwest Washington, D.C., most of which also constitutes the Greater U Street Historic District. It is centered along a nine-block s ...
. Most of the furniture in the restaurant is original to the 1950s.
[Vorhees, Mara]
Ben's chili and hot dogs have time-tested appeal
''The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'', 28 January 2004 At the time, U Street was known as "Black
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
". Many
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
greats of the day, such as
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...
,
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...
, and
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...
, would stop by the restaurant when they performed at U Street clubs.
The U Street corridor was devastated by the
April 1968 riots that followed the
assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.[Transcript: Ben's Chili Bowl Celebrates 45th Anniversary]
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
, aired 22 August 2003 During the riots, black activist
Stokely Carmichael
Kwame Ture (; born Stokely Standiford Churchill Carmichael; June 29, 1941November 15, 1998) was a prominent organizer in the civil rights movement in the United States and the global pan-African movement. Born in Trinidad, he grew up in the Unite ...
, leader of the
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC, often pronounced ) was the principal channel of student commitment in the United States to the civil rights movement during the 1960s. Emerging in 1960 from the student-led sit-ins at segrega ...
, asked Ben to keep his restaurant open, and the Alis obtained permission to stay open past
curfew
A curfew is a government order specifying a time during which certain regulations apply. Typically, curfews order all people affected by them to ''not'' be in public places or on roads within a certain time frame, typically in the evening and ...
. The restaurant fed both the police officers and firefighters working to impose order on the neighborhood, as well as the black activists. The violence and arson reached such an extent that Ben wrote "Soul Brother" in soap on the front window in the hopes that it would stop the angry mobs.
![Bens-chili-bowl](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Bens-chili-bowl.jpg)
The destruction of so many businesses led to the flight of residents towards the suburbs and the economic decline of the neighborhood through the mid-1970s to mid-1980s. As the area became known for its
drug addicts
Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use of ...
, Ben's Chili Bowl reduced its staff to one employee.
[ Ben and Virginia's son Kamal recalled, "We stayed and had a following, because the Chili Bowl was like the neighborhood ]barber
A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave men's and boys' hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a "barbershop" or a "barber's". Barbershops are also places of social interaction and publi ...
shop. People would sit here and chat. There was always a family presence and the locals protected us."[ The restaurant stopped serving pies and cakes, which attracted addicts, while police conducted surveillance on drug dealers from an upstairs window of the building.][
The extensive construction of the U Street Metro station across the street from the restaurant, completed in 1991, forced still more U Street businesses to close. However, Ben's Chili Bowl stayed open to feed the construction workers.][ '']The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' commented that Ben's Chili Bowl is "probably the only business on this strip that survived both the 1968 riots and the construction phase of the Metro Green Line
The Metro Green Line (formerly called the Central Corridor) is an light rail line that connects the central business districts of Minneapolis and Saint Paul in Minnesota as well as the University of Minnesota. An extension is under construct ...
".[Becton, Neal]
City Guide: Ben's Chili Bowl
''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' editorial review The Metro and lower crime rates helped the gradual revitalization and gentrification
Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and urban planning, planning. Gentrification ...
of the neighborhood. From the early 1990s, business revenues grew by 10% annually, to $1.5 million in 2005, and the number of employees at the restaurant grew as well, to a staff of 20.[
]
In the summer of 2007, the owners of Ben's led a coalition of ten small local businesses to broker a deal with a local energy company to convert operations to 100% wind energy.[Kennedy, Shawn G., "Washington's small businesses tap into green power," The New York Post, August 15, 2007.](_blank)
/ref> The ''New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com.
It was established ...
'' quoted Nizam Ali as saying, "We see this as part of being involved in what is good for the neighborhood, what's good for the city....It's a good idea that helps the environment and, it turns out, makes economic sense for all of us."
In 2008, Ben's Chili Bowl opened a second location in the newly built Nationals Park
Nationals Park is a baseball stadium
A ballpark, or baseball park, is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field is divided into the infield, an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined, and the outfield, where dimen ...
, though it has a more limited selection than the original restaurant.
On October 7, 2009, Ben died at the age of 82. He and his wife, Virginia, had retired from the restaurant business, having passed daily operations of Ben's Chili Bowl to their sons, Kamal and Nizam.[ Ali's death was mourned in many ways throughout the city, including a written statement by Mayor Adrian Fenty, which read in part:
"I am deeply saddened to hear of the passing of the founder and namesake of Ben's Chili Bowl, one of the greatest treasures in the District of Columbia. Ben Ali was a man who invested his life in a small business that weathered many storms and became the soul of a neighborhood and the pride of our city."
In 2009, Ben's sons, Nizam and Kamal, opened an upscale restaurant and bar, Ben's Next Door, at 1211 U St, NW, adjacent to the original building.]["Drinks flow next door at Ben's, The Washington Times.](_blank)
/ref> Featuring alcohol (something not available in Ben's), the restaurant's goal is to "complement" Ben's, according to Nizam, who says that the goal is to stay "true to ourselves". The restaurant offers everything on the Ben's Chili Bowl menu from 11am to closing, in addition to its lunch, dinner, and a late-night menu.
Customers and recognition
''The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' described Ben's diverse customers as "punk
Punk or punks may refer to:
Genres, subculture, and related aspects
* Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres
* Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
-looking kids and fashionable business people and everyone in between".[ In 2001, Ben and Virginia's son, Kamal, commented on the changes of what types of people were eating at the establishment: "You hear comments. Even the white customers. They want to think they're the only whites who'd been hip enough to go to the Chili Bowl. Now they look around and there are a lot of other whites and they are not so happy about it."
]
The most famous regular customer is comedian Bill Cosby
William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and media personality. He made significant contributions to American and African-American culture, and is well known in the United States for his eccentric ...
, who took his future wife to Ben's when they were dating.[ He recalls that he first became a frequent visitor while serving in the Navy and stationed in ]Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...
in 1958 and frequently visited the U Street jazz clubs.[Alexander, Keith L., "Ben's Celebrates Chili Power," Washington Post, August 21, 2008.](_blank)
/ref> Cosby recalls that during some of his visits with Camille, who was then a student at the University of Maryland
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...
, he would "eat as many as six half-smokes at a time." Cosby returned to Ben's in 1985 to hold a press conference in the restaurant to celebrate the success of his television series, ''The Cosby Show
''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom co-created by and starring Bill Cosby, which aired Thursday nights for eight seasons on NBC between September 20, 1984, until April 30, 1992. The show focuses on an upper middle-class African- ...
''.[ He continues to stop by Ben's while in town for servings of ]half-smoke
A half-smoke is a "local sausage delicacy" found in Washington, D.C., and the surrounding region. Similar to a hot dog, but usually larger, spicier, and with more coarsely-ground meat, the sausage is often half-pork and half-beef, Smoking (cooki ...
s. A sign posted in the restaurant proclaimed that Bill Cosby is the only person who eats for free at Ben's Chili Bowl. On November 3, 2008, a new sign was posted to add "the Obama family". Starting in 2012 a large mural featuring Cosby adorned the building, but was removed in January 2017 amid sexual assault allegations against the comedian.
Many other celebrities, including Chris Tucker
Christopher Tucker (born August 31, 1971) is an American actor and comedian. Tucker made his debut in 1992 as a stand-up performer on the HBO comedy series ''Def Comedy Jam'', where he frequently appeared on the show during the 1990s. He app ...
and Bono
Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (), is an Irish singer-songwriter, activist, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2.
Born and raised in Dublin, he attended M ...
, have visited over the years. When journalist Ted Koppel
Edward James Martin Koppel (born February 8, 1940) is a British-born American broadcast journalist, best known as the anchor for '' Nightline'', from the program's inception in 1980 until 2005.
Before ''Nightline'', he spent 20 years as a broad ...
stopped hosting news program ''Nightline'', he held his 2005 farewell party at the restaurant.[ Then-]President-elect
An ''officer-elect'' is a person who has been elected to a position but has not yet been installed. Notably, a president who has been elected but not yet installed would be referred to as a ''president-elect'' (e.g. president-elect of the Unit ...
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
ate at Ben's on January 10, 2009.
''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' asserts, "By the late 1990s, no D.C. politician would dream of running for office without dropping into Ben's."[ Anthony A. Williams appeared at Ben's immediately after his successful mayoral election.]
However, celebrities at Ben's are not limited to American citizens. In 1998, former DC mayor Marion Barry
Marion Shepilov Barry (born Marion Barry Jr.; March 6, 1936 – November 23, 2014) was an American politician who served as the second and fourth mayor of the District of Columbia from 1979 to 1991 and 1995 to 1999. A Democrat, Barry had served ...
described having traveled to Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
and meeting the Mayor of Accra The following is a list of mayors of Accra, Ghana.
* E.C. Quaye (1958–1962)
* Benjamin N. O. Addison (1963 - ?)
* G.W. Amarteifio (1970-1972)
* S.J.A Mark Okai
* A.K. Konuah
* Nat Ashalley-Anthony (1979–1981)
* Triumvirate ( Enoch T. ...
, an alumnus of Howard University, whose greeting was, "Glad to have you in Accra. Is Ben's Chili Bowl still there?" And when French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy visited Washington, D.C. in March 2010, they reportedly each had two of Ben's half smokes during their visit to the restaurant.
Scenes from films including ''The Pelican Brief
''The Pelican Brief'' is a legal-suspense thriller by John Grisham, published in 1992 by Doubleday. It is his third novel after '' A Time to Kill'' and ''The Firm''. Two paperback editions were published, both by Dell Publishing in 1993. A na ...
''[Historic U Street Jazz: The Minnehaha Theatre / Ben's Chili Bowl]
George Washington University
, mottoeng = "God is Our Trust"
, established =
, type = Private federally chartered research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $2.8 billion (2022)
, preside ...
and '' State of Play'' have been filmed in the restaurant, and it has been in "dozens of TV shows." The short fil
''Breakfast At Ben's''
was filmed almost entirely in the restaurant. The documentary Traveling While Black
''Traveling While Black'' is a Canadian-American coproduced virtual reality documentary film project, directed by Roger Ross Williams and released in 2019.Dream McClinton"Traveling While Black: behind the eye-opening VR documentary on racism in Am ...
, a virtual reality project about racism, makes use of the restaurant as the main filming location in 2019. Additionally, it has been used in novels as the setting for fictional meetings—especially meetings that involve individuals from "different sides of the law"—as it was in George Pelecanos
George P. Pelecanos (born February 18, 1957) is an American author. Many of his 20 books are in the genre of detective fiction and set primarily in his hometown of Washington, D.C. He is also a film and television producer and a television writ ...
's ''King Suckerman
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
''.
Ben and Virginia Ali were inducted into the D.C. Hall of Fame, and in 1999, the alley adjacent to the restaurant was renamed "Ben Ali Way".[ On the occasion of Ben Ali's 2009 death, D.C. mayor ]Adrian Fenty
Adrian Malik Fenty (born December 6, 1970) is an American politician who served as the sixth mayor of the District of Columbia. He served one term, from 2007 to 2011, losing his bid for reelection at the primary level to Democrat Vincent C. Gra ...
released a statement calling the restaurant "one of the greatest treasures in the District of Columbia".
In popular culture
A Washington-based episode of the Travel Channel
Travel Channel (stylized as Trvl Channel since 2018) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, which had previously owned the channel from 1997 to 2007. The channel is headquartered in New York, New York, United S ...
's ''Man v. Food
''Man v. Food'' is an American food reality television series. It premiered on December 3, 2008 on the Travel Channel. The program was originally hosted by actor and food enthusiast Adam Richman. In each episode, Richman explores the "big food" o ...
'' (S02E12), which first aired in the summer of 2009, featured Ben's Chili Bowl as one of the stops. The host, Adam Richman
Adam Montgomery Richman is an American actor and television host. He has hosted various dining and eating-challenge programs on the Travel Channel and History Channel.
Early life and education
Richman, an only child, was born into a Jewish fa ...
, helped Nizam Ali prepare his chili before trying out a chili Half-Smoke; Richman sat in the same seat that President Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
had sat in earlier in the year.
In the 2009 movie '' State of Play'', reporter Cal McAffrey (Russell Crowe
Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is an actor. He was born in New Zealand, spent ten years of his childhood in Australia, and moved there permanently at age twenty one. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Maxi ...
) visits Ben's Chili Bowl and appears to be a regular customer. He orders his "regular": Chili Cheese Burger, Chili Cheese Fry, and a Chili Half-Smoke. The scene features the sign: "List of who eats free at Ben's : Bill Cosby, NO ONE ELSE".
Although Ben's Chili Bowl is not explicitly mentioned, in the first episode of the HBO show ''The Deuce'', during a scene set in a New York City diner, Lori, (actress Emily Meade) asks: “What was that sausage thing?” C.C. (Gary Carr) replies: “That’s a half-smoke, girl.”
Reviews
In 2004, the James Beard Foundation
The James Beard Foundation is a New York City-based national non-profit culinary arts organization named in honor of James Beard, a prolific food writer, teacher, and cookbook author, who was also known as the "Dean of American Cookery." The prog ...
named Ben's one of the "down-home eateries that have carved out a special place on the American culinary landscape". Michael Stern, a writer specializing in U.S. regional foods, penned a 2008 review raving "The half-smoke is sensational!" and "Ben's serves one of the best sweet potato pies anywhere", and describing the chili as "sensational stuff: thick, peppery, full-flavored and positively addictive". In January 2009, food magazine ''Bon Appétit
''Bon Appétit'' is a monthly American food and entertaining magazine, that typically contains recipes, entertaining ideas, restaurant recommendations, and wine reviews. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered at the One World Trade Center i ...
'' named Ben's one of the country's ten "Best Chili Spots", asserting, "No reasonable discussion of great chili joints can take place without mention of this U Street institution." In a 2016 ''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' restaurant review, Ben's received one star and the food was described as "awful."
References
Further reading
''Ben’s Chili Bowl: 50 Years of a Washington, D.C., Landmark''
by Tracey Gold Bennett, Arcadia Publishing
Arcadia Publishing is an American publisher of neighborhood, local, and regional history of the United States in pictorial form.(analysis of the successful ''Images of America'' series). Arcadia Publishing also runs the History Press, which publi ...
, 2008,
External links
Ben's Chili Bowl
''official website''
"The People Are Hungry"
by National Public Radio
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...
"'People Were Out of Control': Remembering the 1968 Riots"
by the '' Washingtonian''
"Ben's Chili Bowl Founder Remembered Fondly"
video by ''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
''
Maurice, the General Manager, shows off Ben's new "veggie dogs" on a YouTube video, October 6, 2010.
President Obama visits Ben's Chili Bowl.
YouTube video of Nizam Ali explaining why the restaurant switched to 100% wind-powered energy.
Guide to the Ben's Chili Bowl Records, 1943-2014
Special Collections Research Center, Estelle, and Melvin Gelman Library, The George Washington University
Ben's Chili Bowl
Documentary produced by WETA-TV
WETA-TV (channel 26) is the primary PBS member television station in Washington, D.C. Owned by the Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association, it is a sister station to NPR member WETA (90.9 FM). The two outlets share studios ...
{{Authority control
African-American history of Washington, D.C.
Historic district contributing properties in Washington, D.C.
Hot dog restaurants in the United States
Chili con carne restaurants
Restaurants established in 1958
1958 establishments in Washington, D.C.
Restaurants in Washington, D.C.
Former cinemas in the United States
Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C.
James Beard Foundation Award winners